Two Roads West
by Feadan
Summary: A series of short stories documenting Galadriel and Celeborn's separate paths to Valinor
1. Author's notes

The Last Night – Author's notes

This is my first attempt at a short story. It has been a lot of fun. The idea grew out of a discussion with friends back in June. I was struck by these questions: How could Galadriel go to the West, leaving behind the love of her life and husband of 7,000 years? How could Celeborn let the love of his life and wife of 7,000 years walk out the door and not go with her? I hope my answer satisfies.

Plot bunnies being well, plot bunnies, have multiplied during the writing. There are several future installments, which follow their further adventures. It is less a work in progress than a series of connected short stories. 

Lastly, I would like to thank my three friends who helped immensely, with beta reading and encouragement, Anglachel, Isabeau and Hope. You three are the best. This, much improved version (4.0) is the result of your help. Thanks.

Fëadan


	2. The Last Night

The Last Night

Between the large Mallorn tree that held the Court of Lothlórien and its neighbor of like size and species, which held the residence of Celeborn and Galadriel, was a rope bridge. Not the type where you walk on a large rope, with small ropes for hand holds and hope you live to see the other side. This was a proper bridge, with wooden slats to walk on, wide enough for two to pass in opposite directions, hand holds and netting on the side for safety and an awning for rainy days. 

At this moment, Lord Celeborn was heading for that bridge as fast as he could without running. Four people had stopped him on his way out of court and he did not wish to make it five. He had an appointment to keep with his wife and was loath to miss it.

At the head of the bridge stood two guards in mail, holding spears and girt with long knives. When their lord approached, in an obvious hurry, they stood at attention on either side of the exit, one holding the gate open for him. After he passed, they closed the gate and resumed guarding the bridge as it swayed and creaked from the hasty crossing.

At the other end of the bridge was the entranceway to their house. It had stairs up to their private residence and down to the areas where the servants prepared food, washed clothes and lived, so as to be available whenever they were needed. Directly ahead were a hall, which curved around in a circle, leading to a large dining room, a guest parlor for entertaining, and several guestrooms, which were only available to the most important visitors.

Celeborn's goal was his wife's suite of rooms on the top floor. Up the stairs he bounded. The stairs led to another circular hall. It had many doors on the inside, opening into closets, storage rooms and service areas, which provided the amenities that supported the luxuriant life in the outer ring. The outer ring only had a few doors. One for his suite of rooms, another for his wife's, one to the library, one which gave access to the main parlor, and one which led to the main dinning room, which was also accessible through the parlor. 

Celeborn opened the door to Galadriel's suite. It was lit with the bright orange blaze of the setting sun. He looked around. She was not in her office, which like all rooms in a circular building was barely wider than the doorway at the entrance and quite wide at its far end where glass windows were swung wide in the Summer's heat. The walls near the door were stacked to the tall ceiling with bookshelves and cabinets. At the far end, where the room was widest, the desk and workbench were on opposite walls, near the windows where the light was best. Over them, the roof was paned with glass to allow more light into the work area. The room looked picked up and organized. None of the usual clutter of works being done to be seen.

Walking through the parlor, which also looked unnatural, being picked up and bare with no sign of being lived in, he stopped to look at the room, made familiar by centuries of use. Everything about the room, the paintings on the wall, the comfortable couch and chair, the tables and cabinets of maple all looked the same, yet it was like he was seeing something that was dying. Some part of the room's spirit was gone, or at least leaving. With a sigh, he said to himself, "Already it seems empty."

  
He made his way out to what Galadriel called her Sunset Porch. She stood at the railing, her back to him, wearing a pale green silk nightgown that hung to a bit above her knees. The late summer heat and humidity had all but straightened the cascading ringlets of this afternoon into the merest hint of a wave in her golden hair. 

Without turning to see who it was, she spoke. "I was hoping you would make it ere the sun set. It looks to be a fine one."

He joined her at the rail, looking across the tops of the trees, to the Misty Mountains, which the sun was just reaching the tops of. "You thought not that I would be late, did you?"

"I was not sure," She said, turning to look at him for the first time. "I fear that you are quite angry with me."

He returned the look, and there was a long silence as their eyes met. "No, I am just sad we are here, at this point. Like any hard thing, I want to make it go away, but can not. I have seen too many bad days, and I do not wish to add this one to the list."

Looking away and hoping to change the subject, she said. "I have had food and drink laid out for us. I sent the maids away for the night. Tonight, we attend each other. May I pour you some wine?"

Celeborn turned his gaze back to the sun falling to the mountaintops. "Not quite yet. I just want to stand here and watch the setting of the sun. It fits my mood and I have little to say."

As Celeborn watched the sunset, his wife was watching him. Bathed in the golden light, the white robe, with its silver embroideries, his face and his silver hair all looked as if they were spun from the finest gold. So still did he stand, that he looked like a golden statue, straight and tall, like the ancient soldier he was, as if part of some monument to First Age valor. "You are beautiful, my love. I doubt the world will see another like you."

"Yet not beautiful enough to hold your heart. What I would give to be its master." He said sadly, while continuing to gaze into the golden sunset.

She frowned, " That is unfair. You have held my heart captive since we first met, over 7000 years ago. Half of what I am is you. How dare you say something like that to me?"

Still looking away from her, his stiff soldier's stance helping to hold back his tears, he spoke with the slightest of quiver in his voice. "What am I to believe? You have packed your things and are leaving tomorrow, forever. How will I reclaim that half of me that is you? Unfair? What about fairness to me?"

Galadriel stood, looking at the sunset again, saying nothing, hoping that silence would let the moment pass, without it erupting into a fight. A storm was brewing, but she hoped to dodge the worst of it.

It was suddenly darker and cooler feeling on the porch as the sun slid beneath the peaks and only the orange of the sky lit the room. 

Galadriel looked slumped, as if bearing a heavy load. "Please, not tonight. Let us spend our last night as lovers. Do not ruin it with arguments that are for naught." 

As she spoke, she moved close to him and took his hand in hers and pulled him around to face her. She hugged him in a half-answered embrace, saying. "Hold me, I need to have you close. Believe me, we will only be apart for a little while. I can not stay and I know you will follow."

After a moment, she pulled back from him with a smile, "This outfit may be fine for strutting and posing in court, but the embroidery and traceries poke me in tender places. There are better things to wear for a night such as this. Come, I have something for you."

Taking his hand, she pulled him through a door that led to her bedchamber. It seemed that every room in her suite had a door to the sunset porch. The chamber was getting darker as the sun continued to sink behind the mountains, but they could still see quite easily. 

The room was simple, yet beautiful. Rich green carpet underfoot, the color of fresh grass. Light wood paneling to half height with a carved molding at its top, wall paper traced with vines and flowers to the high ceiling and large wood beams of a light colored hardwood supporting the roof, carved with intricate vines and flowers to match the walls. The outer wall was all windows of black silk screen, from just above floor height, all the way to the ceiling. Against the back wall, a lady's dressing table in front of a large round mirror, bearing two small travel chests, which held the cosmetic supplies that normally covered the table. On either side of the dressing table, were the doors Celeborn knew led to a large closet and her lave. Centered on the far wall, sideways to the windows, was a large bed, with a beautiful headboard, carved like stand of large trees in natural wood, rising to a canopy of green leaves, hand painted in many shades. Over it, was a mosquito net pulled back to frame it as if it were a stage, and at its foot a large wood chest, carved with standing trees and a cushioned top so it could serve as a seat.

When they reached the side of the bed facing away from the window, she said, "Sit".

She went to the foot of the bed and opened the chest. In a moment she stood before him, bearing a soft package wrapped in green tissue and tied with a silver ribbon. Handing it to him she said, "A small gift."

Celeborn unwrapped the package and was soon holding a dark green silk robe out before him for inspection. "Thank you, I had not thought to bring one. Usually, when I cross the hall to visit, I already have mine on."

"Visit, is that what you call it?" She smiled. "Perhaps softer clothes will place you in a softer mood.

" Let me help you with your clothing", said Galadriel, as she pulled him up to standing and began to undo the heavily embroidered robe her husband had worn for the ceremony that afternoon. "I take it as a show of true love that you would wear such an outfit on a day like today, just to honor me."

"You are worth a hundred hot afternoons in any costume you could name, but I am glad to be rid of this one now." Celeborn said as she continued to extract him from the layers of dress clothing he had worn during the ceremony. "You are the spirit of our little wood, and will be missed greatly. The people wanted to send you off with a proper thanking for centuries of service."

As she got the last of the clothing off him and he stood naked in her room, she answered. "Well, this was one time I was glad my part was only to sit there in a silk dress. Even then, my hair wilted in far less time than the maids spent doing it. Do not move, I will be back in a moment."

Galadriel stepped into her lave, which was dimly lit by the fading sunset coming through the skylight. The only other light was coming from a small, distilled spirit lamp set under a copper pitcher of water, to warm it. She took a wood match from a cup on the counter, lit it from the flame of the warming lamp, lit the two oil lamps on the counter and blew out the match. The room filled with a soft gold light. Next, she removed the top from a large stone urn beside the counter, scooped two ladles of cold water into the large wash bowl set in the center of the counter. She then filled the bowl the rest of the way with steaming hot water from the copper pitcher on the warmer. Lastly, she added salts and herbs from several containers to the water and stirred it with her fingers. Placing a towel and wash cloth on her shoulder, she picked up the bowl with both hands and headed back to the bedroom where she set the bowl on the floor beside him.

Galadriel then dipped and wrung the washcloth and began by gently washing her husband's face. When she was done with his face, she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. 

"Hold your hair off your neck and I will do it next. She said while re-wetting the cloth and wringing it into the bowl.

When she finished the neck, another tiny kiss was laid. In this fashion, she worked her way down to his feet, leaving no part unwashed.

"This feels wonderful." He said. "Just one of the many things about you I am going to miss."

"Perhaps, I am offering one more argument for your accompanying me tomorrow." She replied, with a sly smile.

With that, she stood up, carried the bowl into the lave and emptied it into the urn for wastewater. 

On her return, she fanned him with the towel for a minute until she had raised goose flesh all over him and then suddenly flipped the towel over his head, behind his back and used it two handed to pull him close. 

"There, put your robe on and let us get to the food and drink. It has been a long afternoon and we are in need of both." She said, with her nose touching his, and then slipped away with a smile, just before he thought to seize her for a kiss.

….

Celeborn stood in the doorway, pulling his hair back into a ponytail and fastening it with a clasp he had found in her cosmetic case while he watched Galadriel setting the table in the fading sunset. She had three candles in tall glass lighting the table and several more on the serving table along the wall. There were serving dishes set out with the food and several bottles of wine.

Handing him a bottle, she said. "Make yourself useful. I will have everything ready to serve in a moment."

He stood there, and read the label for a moment before applying the screw to the cork.

"Is the wine open?" She said, while shuffling items on the buffet till they were just so. "Pour two glasses and put them on the table."

Celeborn stepped to the serving table, set down the cork impaled on the corkscrew and picked up the large crystal goblet closest to him. He examined it in the candlelight, looking at the crest of Finarfin carved into the side. "I has been a long time since you used these. They are from a set, if I recall."

"They are part of a service for 12 Melian gave me for my hope chest about a year after I first arrived in Doriath." She answered. "I told her I was hopeless, and men irritated me far too much to ever marry one."

"What did she say to that?" he asked with a chuckle as he poured the wine.

"There is always hope and that husband or no, a great lady needs a good table setting. I have lugged this set around in its chest to wherever we have lived. I seldom use it, because it is near to priceless. It is quality fit for a queen, and now, given its great age, it is worth a king's ransom. I have arranged to ship it to Arwen. She is the lady of the House of Finarfin in Middle Earth now." Galadriel answered, having finished getting everything ready. "Is the wine poured?"

"Yes. What have we to eat?" Celeborn asked.

Galadriel began lifting lids on the various serving bowls and trays. "We have smoked trout, asparagus tips in vinaigrette, wild rice, wild mushrooms sautéed in a white wine sauce and strawberries with cream for desert.

Celeborn was soon sitting at the table, plate of food in front of him. He was looking out at the sky which now outlined the Misty Mountains in bands of lavender and luminous orange, which transformed to purple and then deep dark blue speckled with stars. The crickets were almost deafening as the heat had them chirping in a frenzy. His seat was 30 feet above the treetops and the hazy fog of a still evening was starting fill the spaces between them.

"Is not this just beautiful?" Galadriel asked as she sat down with her plate. "This is one of the places I will miss the most."

He sat there without answering, looking at the forest. "_How can anything in Valinor be any better? There is a reason beautifuller is bad grammar_." He thought to himself.

Ignoring his silence, Galadriel continued, "Summer supper at sundown with you on my little porch is one of my favorite times. Little peaceful moments like this mean more to me than great achievements or a mountain of treasure. They are what make my life complete."

Celeborn said nothing, picking at his plate of food with his fork, and thinking, "_Typical Noldo, walk away from complete happiness in search of some higher ideal. Wisdom of the West, indeed_."

Galadriel reached across the table and placed her hand on his and said, in a quiet voice that belied great irritation and a struggle to maintain self-control. "I know you are sitting there, thinking rude answers that you are too polite to speak. I can feel your anger, like a cloud hanging over this room. This is our last night together before I leave for the West. Please, speak your mind and be done with it. I wish to get past this and move on to the part where we have an enjoyable last evening together." 

He looked up and caught her eyes with his. They stayed still for a moment, just looking at each other's eyes. Then Celeborn began with a sigh, "I do not understand why you are in such a hurry to leave. This is the first real peace we have known in thousands of years. You worked so hard to bring about the victory, why not stay and enjoy the fruits of your labor? We can always sail West later."

Galadriel took a fork full of rice and chewed it carefully, then a sip of wine and looked straight at him, "Because my place is in the West now. Just as I once belonged here, now I belong there. I am part of the past, and soon that past will live only in Valinor. You belong there too, but are too stubborn to admit it."

"I do not see what is wrong with a plan where we both give a little so we can both get what we want. I prefer we do things as husband and wife. You seem to always announce plans and expect me to just follow. I am not a soldier in your army." Celeborn took a sip of wine and continued, "I shall go with you, but on the scenic route. It is still your plan, but with my improvements to it. That is how marriages are supposed to work."

"Tell me the route, one thing we are going to do that we have not done a hundred times before." She said, while peeling a piece of smoked fish off the ribs with her fork, and then looking him in the eyes with great intensity. "I am tired of this land, and do not want to see any more of it, except the road to Grey Havens. I long to rest by the fountains of Lórien, my spirit is weary and in need of healing."

"We can go to Minas Tirith. We have never lived in a big city. I do not doubt that Arwen will have a baby before long. We can dote on our new relation. Tell me you have done that before." Celeborn smiled, as if he had just scored a point, and poured himself a second glass of wine. He filled his wife's near empty glass at the same time.

"I am sure she will manage just fine without me. The last thing she needs is to have her grandmother around, disrupting her home and telling her how to do everything. The baby will be enough trouble, without me hovering about. You will have to come up with something better than that. Besides, my knowledge of housework is limited to casting a frown at the maids when I think they have gossiped enough and should be working. You are better with babies than I, and I would never hire you as a nursemaid" Galadriel said before emptying her fork of asparagus tips. 

"Alright then, we will live in a house on the sea in the south of Gondor. The weather is beautiful there, year around. We will just enjoy living. I will buy you a sailboat and you can teach the servants and I to be your crew. Arwen's children can visit us in the summer. When they have grown, you can sail us on the straight path." With that, Celeborn flipped the trout over and began separating a piece of meat from the other side. 

Galadriel was looking at him with a look of intense earnestness as she spoke. "We did that already. Do you forget? We lived on the Bay of Belfalas. Why are you so resistant to leaving for the West? Just tell me what you are thinking. There has to be something I do not understand."

Celeborn chewed a mouthful of smoked trout and looked out at the darkening forest. He had another sip of wine. "I guess it is the arrogance of the West that puts me off. I was very happy before your kin arrived. It is not as if we were all sitting around in the dark, waiting for someone to come and enlighten us. When you come right to it, I am in no mind to travel somewhere I do not really want to go and then have to be thankful for being raised out of my rough and uncouth existence when I get there. I would much rather spend my days trout fishing than singing songs to amuse the Valar." 

"You never change, do you? This is all about your resentment of the Noldor for coming to Middle Earth, against the Valar for freeing Melkor. You still blame us for what happened in Doriath. You really have to learn to get over grudges." Galadriel's mood had changed in an instant. Suppressed irritation had become real anger. She stabbed an impolitely large stack of mushrooms onto her fork and ate them furiously. Then she looked at the darkening sky for a while, saying nothing, while working on her glass of wine.

After a while, Celeborn broke the deafening silence. "Well, you have to admit granting parole to the focus of evil does not say much for the wisdom of the Valar. If the Noldor were so wise, how come they turned themselves into a charnel mound over three gemstones? I am just an old Dark Elf who does not see the justification for all the arrogance of the West. I do not see why you are in such a hurry to return. Did they not banish you and tell you never to return? You are not even sure if they will let you back onto Aman. They might just allow you to look at it from the island where they keep their Elves. What do they call it, Eressëa?" Celeborn said, as he took a spear of asparagus, and chewed while waiting for an answer.

Galadriel waited to answer. She needed to let the moment cool. She ignored his looks and busied herself with her plate. After her plate was nearly empty, she replied. "I am not going to let you get a rise out me with insults. We were the victims of the Valar's foolish decision as much as they or Middle Earth. They do what they will, and do not ask my permission. Every good person and beautiful thing in Eä was damaged by that mistake. It can not be undone. Even had they not done it, Sauron was master of Angband. He was a foe Doriath could never have survived alone. Do not fool yourself into thinking Middle Earth would be paradise, were it not for the West. Even Valinor has seen dark days. No one is immune from the hurts of evil. You are not the only injured party. We have all suffered. We have all cried our own bucket of tears. Do not let your pain turn you away from your friends and family or the Elf home in the West. You need the healing that lives in the West as much as I, maybe more. Pray, do not let your pride leave you in this wounded state forever."

With that, there was a quiet interlude. They both picked at what was left of their dinner, digesting what the other had said. Galadriel broke the silence with an attempt to lighten the mood. "Let us have dessert."

"Yes, that sounds good, and a coffee that is near to half cream, if you will." Was Celeborn's reply. 

In a moment, she was laying out both desserts. They both ate their desserts in silence, unwilling to start bickering again. 

When he had finished his dessert, Celeborn took his coffee in both hands and sipped it. He leaned back in his chair and began. "I am sorry for letting my sadness become unkind words. You are right. I do hold grudges. You are no different. We are much alike. You are right, that I blame the Noldor unfairly. They were pursuing justice for a slain king and kinsman as much as stolen gems. I have never forgiven the killers of my own king. How can I demand the same of others? You are also right, that trouble would have come to Doriath, Noldor or no. Without the aid of your kin, we would have fared far worse in the storms that came. It seems my anger with your leaving has had me brooding over many things. It has brought old hurts to the fore. I am put off by the arrogant superiority of many of the Noldor. It insults me that they slight my culture, always has. I am sorry if I end up taking it out on you. That is truly unfair, for you saw their flaws as clearly as I. I think my anger over your leaving has just made it all boil over."

Galadriel paused, and looked at him with pain in her eyes and said, "If we are to settle all the slights between the kindreds of East and West tonight, it will be a long one. Can we please just speak of the trouble between you and I? That is more than enough for a night's work." 

Celeborn took a sip of coffee, looked out into the darkening forest for a while and then back at his wife. "What I do not understand. Where I do not think you are right, is in leaving now. What is so hard about you humoring me, and tarrying for a century or so? Life in a small seaside hamlet is a kind of healing. You can take a rest from saving the world from itself. We will make fine and beautiful friends and invite them to dine. We can walk the markets in the afternoon and bring home our dinner in a basket. We shall eat well, and drink good wine on a porch that faces the ocean. The roar of the surf will be our music as we fall asleep in each other's arms. How can you turn that down? It is not as if I am demanding that you live in an orc den."

Galadriel sipped her coffee slowly and took a moment to measure her words before she replied. "I do not think you understand what horror I feel in this place. It has literally devoured my whole family. I am sure a place by the sea here would be grand, but my family owns a house by the sea in Alqualondë that I would set against any. That there is beauty here that I have not beheld is gladly conceded. What you do not realize is the potential for more horror this place holds for me. I fear it greatly. Horror was just a word I learnt as a child, until I came here. A concept, an idea, something to memorize and learn to spell. Here it is real and rips the soul out of those it leaves alive. I have over learned the meaning now and have not the strength for another lesson. The only thing that kept me here as long as I stayed, was the desire for vengeance upon Sauron. Family honor demanded that I avenge Finrod's death. I desperately want you to leave with me, but I am leaving whatever your choice. You thirst for beauty and amusement. I offer you a chance to walk a new land, where we will tour to your heart's content, we will be safe wherever we go and I guarantee that every place we visit will give new meaning to wonder. There, you could not offer me an orc den if you wanted."

Celeborn looked into his coffee cup, swirling the last sips, nursing them to preserve the moment. "I thought you stayed because your husband and lover lived here. Was it only lust for vengeance that kept you by my side?"

Galadriel looked straight into his eyes until he turned away from the intensity of it. "No love, it is for you that I leave. The one thing I can be sure of here in Middle Earth, is another war. When it comes, we would end up in the thick of it, like we always do. The side of the good, beset by evil and unprepared as ever, will come to us, begging our aid. We will give it and be doomed to stay for another round."

"Let me tell you of part of war you have never seen. When a great lord falls, he is taken up on a bier, covered with a fine blanket and escorted home by the knights of his house. That much you know. Then the stirring scene in the courtyard, lit with torches, where men holding spears and swords salute his valor one last time, and then retire to their hall and drink to his memory. Do you know what happens next?" Galadriel had her husband caught with her eyes and was not going to release him. 

Celeborn stumbled, "Err, no, I am not sure what you mean."

"I will tell you." She said, with her eyes ablaze. "His body is taken away by the women, to be washed and anointed for burial. This is always done by his own kind, in the case of a lord or a great knight, the noble ladies, including his wife. You have no idea how hard it is to see a great man in this state. Someone who was a friend, a champion, a brother, a father, a lover, or a husband to each in the room, reduced to a broken shell, covered in mud and blood, with parts that belong on the inside hanging out. The sight, the smell, the feel of the room is true horror. I have done this more times than any should have to. I always throw up. I always cry and drink more than I should after. I only make it through such nights, because I know you will welcome me into your bed, drunk and weeping and hold me and chase away the demons."

There was a tear on her cheek, and she forced back a sniffle. "You have to understand. I have to get out of here before it is you they bring home, surrounded by knights telling tales of your great valor, as if that is fit payment for a husband. I refuse to be the broken one, with empty eyes and a soul drowned in tears. If you are to be sacrificed on the altar of Middle Earth, I do not want to see it."

With that, she broke down and cried. "I am sorry, you are all I have left." She said through the sobs. "It is my biggest fear, and just to speak it causes my heart to quake."

Celeborn rose and went round the table to her. He took her hand and pulled her up to him. Her arms went around his waist and they hugged for a long time.

After a while, when her sobs had eased, he said. "Go, go with my blessing. I feel bad for holding you here. I will follow when I am ready, or when first I hear the whispers of war."

She rubbed at her eye, and there was a stain on the back of her hand. "My face is all in streaks now. I need to wash it. I shall return in a minute or two."

"I will also return in a moment. I have to get something from my study", Celeborn said as he took the opportunity to retrieve his gift for her.

….

Celeborn reentered her suite. She was in the parlor, lighting candles with a long match. The room was filled with the light of the dozen already lit. She spoke while lighting yet another. "Would you prefer brandy or shall I open another bottle of wine?"

"Brandy." Was his answer.

With the last candle lit, she opened a door in one of the cabinets and fetched a bottle and two small glasses. Soon she was sitting on the sofa, at the end. The bottle and glasses were on the low table before her and next to them was a small green satin bag, with a golden drawstring.

"Sit down, I have something for you." She said.

"What a coincidence." He replied, showing her a small wooden box displayed between thumb and forefinger, as he sat down next to her.

"You go first." Celeborn said, handing her the box, which was very finely made with a rich oiled finish.

She reached for the box. She examined it for a moment and saw that the top lifted off. Carefully, she lifted the lid, and the inside was lined with deep blue velvet and had a padded cushion on bottom. Inserted into a slot in the cushion was an ornate woman's silver ring, mounted with a large blue gemstone. 

"Oh my!" She gasped and removed the ring to examine it.

She moved close to the light and looked at the ring for a long time. "This is mine! Where did you get this? I lost this ring when we were burgled at that inn. Remember, we were on our way to Mithlond. Our room was plundered while we dined, and all my jewelry taken. That must have been 6,000 years ago"

As she was admiring the ring on her finger, where it fit perfectly, Celeborn explained. "I bought it from a jeweler in Minas Tirith when we were there. The place is really a wonder. Some of the shops had amazing collections of work from all ages. I bought it because it reminded me of that ring. It had always looked good on your hand. I had no idea this was actually your ring. This has to be a good omen."

Galadriel was beaming as she rose and moved to straddle him as he sat. She was now sitting in his lap, facing him, kneeling with one leg on either side of him. "This is a grand gift. You are amazing. It is hard to imagine the path it must have taken back to my hand."

She then gave him a long kiss. Finally, she moved back to look in his eyes. "I have something for you too."

She turned and reached for the small silk bag on the table. Turning back to face him, she placed the bag in his hand and sat back to observe. "For you."

Celeborn untied the bow in the drawstring, and pulled the top open. He looked inside. Reaching in, he pulled out a fine gold chain, and it had attached to it a small amulet, shaped like a leaf, made of gold on one side and pale green gemstone on the other. He held it up to the light to examine it. "Very nice."

Galadriel reached into the top of her nightgown and pulled out a silver chain with a similar leaf amulet hanging from it, only silver on one side and dark green gemstone on the other. "It is part of a pair with this one." 

Celeborn reached to hold hers, to inspect it and held his alongside it. "They do not match, but they go together well."

"I agree." Galadriel said, with a smile. "They do go together well. They are charms of protection and return. As long as we wear them, they will keep us safe and they will guide us back together no matter how far apart we are or how dire the circumstances. They are set with very powerful spells."

"Where would you get something like this?" He asked.

This earned him the "My husband is an idiot, but I love him anyway" look. 

"Do you not know? You can only obtain charms such as these from an Elven witch in an enchanted forest." She said, with a smile of self-satisfaction. 

"You made these." He said, turning his amulet over in his fingers. 

"With my own hands and lots of love." She said, beaming with pride. "They appear to be gold and silver, but both are alloyed with a fair amount of mithril. This makes the metal very strong and hard. The stones are emerald. They appear as simple jewelry, but there is craft in their making which gives them great power."

"Do you think they will really work? " He asked, with a suggestion that he was humoring her in his voice. 

She feigned a look of indignation and said. "You doubt the magic of Galadriel while trapped in her parlor? You are a braver man than I thought."

They both laughed and kissed again, several times. 

Galadriel sat back on his knees, took the charm from his hand and carefully placed it over his head. She then used her thumbs and forefingers to collect his long ponytail and pull it through the chain, so it hung round his neck. She then pulled back and smoothed the lapels of his robe so she could see it rest on his chest. 

After she had admired her work for a while, she said, "Let us have our drink, and then there is some work to do." 

"Work? I hope it does not involve sharp tools. We have been drinking since sundown." Celeborn laughed.

"Nothing we can not handle. We still have to activate the charms and set the spells to make the magic work. I am waiting for the right time to start." She said with a wink and took a sip of brandy.

Galadriel sat back down next to him on the sofa, and placing a large pillow in his lap, laid out sideways, half sitting with her feet on the armrest. "I think the moon should be in the correct position about an hour from now." 

They just sat there like that for a while, enjoying the closeness. Sometimes, words just get in the way.

"Mmmm, I think it is time." Galadriel said, stirring from the long gentle silence. 

"Time to set the spells." She pulled away from him and stood up. 

"Come, bring the bottle and your glass." She said picking up her drink and a lit candle in a tall glass. 

Celeborn rose and followed her, into her bedroom. He expected her to set the light down on the table next to the bed, but instead she went into her closet. He waited, expecting her to emerge in something bewitching. 

A moment later, Galadriel, still holding both candle and drink reemerged.

"Are you coming or did you get lost?"

Celeborn got a puzzled look on his face. "Are we going to do it in your closet?"

"You will not find out if you do not follow," She said, with a smile, turned and disappeared.

Celeborn entered the closet as if he expected a trap. Ahead, he could see her, holding the candle to light his way. There was moonlight coming through the skylights. In the dim light, he could tell he was in a main corridor of sorts, which had aisles off both sides. Some had closet rods for hanging clothes. Others shelves or drawers. One was all shoe racks on both sides from floor to ceiling. The huge closet was empty, but for a few things hanging on one rod. "I never realized how big this closet was."

"It looks bigger empty. I have packed my favorite clothes to take west, the rest I gave away. Some to my maids, the rest to the ladies of my entourage." 

"Now this way." Galadriel led him down the last isle, which ended in a door. She opened it and revealed a stairway. She started up it and turning, beckoned him to follow.

Soon they were standing in a tiny cottage at roof level. It had a single window, a door to the roof and cabinets on one wall. She opened the door and went out onto a large platform mounted on the roof. She turned and motioned with her hand to follow. 

Celeborn stepped out into the bright moonlight. There was a full moon high overhead. The candle was not needed anymore. There was no wind and the fog had boiled up from the trees so it looked as if they were floating on a sea of vapor lit silvery white by the Moon.

She walked over to a small table and placed the candle and her glass on it. "Set your things down here."

After he set the bottle and glass on the table, she took his hand and pulled him out to the middle of the platform. They just stood there, holding hands, looking at the moonlit fog for a while. 

"Well, do you like my Sun flet? She asked. 

"More like a Moon flet." he answered. "I have never been up here."

"I never allow anyone up here, even my maids. I use it to sun myself, away from the eyes of others, or when I want to see the sky, or be alone." She said.

"I wanted to bring you up here before I left, so you would not wonder why I never showed it to you. I kept it private because it was the one place I could go and not be found, even by you. You do not know what it is like. Wherever I go, there are always people watching me. Sometimes I just want to be where I can relax, and not have to worry about appearances or what I do. Here is the one place I can be all by myself." She said, with a quiet earnestness.

"I can not begrudge you that. You certainly deserved time for yourself. You do enough for everyone else," Celeborn said, giving her hand a gentle squeeze.

Galadriel turned to face him, put one hand behind his head, and pulled him eye to eye with her. With an intense sweet whisper she said, "It is time." And gave him a soft kiss on his lips.

"For what?" He asked, feigning ignorance, but giving himself away with a smile he could not repress.

"Not what you think." Galadriel said and gave him a tiny soft kiss on his lips. "We have to activate the charms." Punctuated with another kiss. "The Moon is directly overhead." One more kiss. "The best time for such work." Still another small kiss and she stepped back a tiny bit and untied his robe.

Taking that as a hint, Celeborn began gently unbuttoning her nightgown from the top down and she asked laughingly, "Have you been reading my secret charmsmith's handbook? You seem to know what I wanted you to do."

"I am a good guesser." He answered, with a devilish smile.

After both were undone, she slid both her hands around his waist and drew him close, feeling his skin pressed to hers. 

"Now, it is important that you follow my instructions exactly, or we will both be burnt to a cinder." She said, pulled him tight, and gave him a deep kiss before he could answer.

He pushed her away with a look of alarm in his eyes. "Are you sure this is safe?"

She laughed. "Of course it is. I was just making sure you were still paying attention.

"This is simple." She said, switching to her Galadriel the expert voice. "All we have to do is hold the amulets to each other's breast, directly over the heart while kissing deeply under the moon at its highest point of the night. Think you can handle that?"

"Is all your magic this much fun?" He asked, in a tone of gentle mocking, "Had I known, I would have asked for lessons years ago."

"Shhh, you will ruin the moment." She said, 

Reaching behind him, she removed the amulet from his neck and placed it in his hand. Next, she removed hers. She gently took his hand and placed it flat across her breast, trapping the charm over her heart. She did the same with her hand on him. She placed her free hand behind his neck and pulled him close and they began to kiss deeply. The kiss went on for a long time. 

When their lips parted, she was almost smiling too much to speak. "You were just supposed to be holding the amulet to my breast."

Celeborn was smiling as much as she. "It is not my doing. The charm is trying to bring us together already. Does this mean I will burst into flames?" 

They both laughed. 

"Not just yet." She said, stepping away from him. "Turn around so you can not see what I am doing for a moment, and put your charm back on."

"Why?" He asked.

"Just humor me for a moment," she answered and went over to the small shed. In a moment, she returned, carrying a large floppy bundle. She flipped it out straight and it, being a goose feather mattress large enough for two, settled to the deck softly. She then returned to the shed for a second load. She returned with pillows and sheets.

"You sound very industrious. I am dying to take a peek." Celeborn asked, as he was pulling his ponytail through the chain his amulet was hanging from. 

"Not yet. I shall be ready in a moment." She said, as she finished making the bed. Then she took her nightgown off and lay down. "You may turn around now."

He turned and looked. She was lying on her side, on the makeshift bed, with her head propped up on one hand, facing him. She was wearing nothing except Nenya, the Elven ring of water, the ring she had received as a present from him tonight and her silver charm. The moon lit her fair skin and luxuriant hair so she seemed to glow with silver light. Whether it was a trick of the moonlight, or their own power, the jewel of adamant on Nenya and the jewel on the charm seemed to be lit with an intense glow of their own. Behind her, the moonlit fog was rising as if she had commanded a curtain to be drawn round them, sealing them into their private world. 

  
She looked straight at Celeborn, with eyes that shone with silver fire. She reached out her free hand, and with the index finger made a single, slow, graceful, come hither motion. 

His robe fell off him as he moved to the bed. The silver, moonlit fog boiled up over them and enclosed them in a sea of shimmering vapors. 

….

Celeborn awoke to a swishing sound. It was his wife brushing her hair. She was sitting next to him, cross-legged, wearing her nightgown. Half her hair was in a single braid on one side of her head and she was brushing the other side. The other hair clip, of silver wrought into a chain of leaves, was on the mattress before her. The sky was the dull gray of a summer predawn as the sun prepared to roast the land one more time. The forest was hidden in the morning fog. "Mmmm, you are awake." He asked, his eyes still blinking their way out of sleep.

"I never fell asleep. I had much to think about." She answered, as she divided her hair into three large sections.

"We can break fast together." He said, sitting up in bed and looking about for his robe.

"No, I am off and I do not want you following me about as I get my things together. You will just disorganize me. Last night was our goodbye. Now, give me a kiss and go back to sleep."

She finished the second braid, attached the silver clip and leaned forward to give him one last long sweet kiss. "I will see you next in our new home in Valinor. Take care till then love, and may the Valar protect you."

Galadriel stood up holding her brush, turned and walked away, into the cottage and down the stairs to her closet. 

Celeborn watched as she left. A tear rolled down his cheek.

….


End file.
